New Forms

一切都是因为这张专辑在1997年获得过英国的MERCURY音乐大奖，成为电子音乐在流行音乐领域里获得的最高奖项，从而引发出前所未有的电子音乐热潮，来自英国BRISTOL的制作人Roni Size更是凭借此专辑赢取了D'N'B界的天王宝座。 深受爵士音乐的影响，在自己的唱片中邀请爵士女歌手参与，更是从真乐器中进行SAMPLE，造就了Roni Size独门的JAZZY D'N'B。 整体感突出是此碟的一大特点，完全不容许支离破碎的现象产生，有如一块璞玉，天然完整，无需修饰。 by John Bush From the final drum'n'bass pioneer to release a full-length, Roni Size's New Forms could well be the best. Though it's slightly bloated at two full discs, and slightly overhyped due to its winning Britain's Mercury Prize, New Forms was the major statement on drum'n'bass, barring only Goldie's Timeless. Size's prime asset is his unique style -- tough, careening breakbeats and metallic time-stretched effects over the organic, elastic sounds of upright bass and other jazzy add-ons. He also has a knack for deft pacing; though many of his productions test the seven-minute mark, he plays around with the beats so much that it never really grows boring. On the title track, he weaves two sets of female vocals -- American rapper Bahamadia and resident Reprazent diva Onallee -- into the mix, digitally syncopating Bahamadia's rap into the production with complete precision. The constantly retriggering breakbeat on "Matter of Fact" makes it another highlight, and Size's transition from the atmospheric "Heroes" to a raging breakbeat storm like "Share the Fall" (both are Onallee features) is astonishing. Yes, Size's production clout is much more apparent on the first disc than the second, but New Forms is laced with so much genius it's worth the price of two discs to own all the excellent productions inside.